Apple iPhone 16e Long Term Review: A Nostalgic iPhone With Modern Power

Apple iPhone 16e price is 51,499 rupees in India. This price is for 128GB storage variants. Moreover, its 256GB and 512GB storage models are priced at 63,999 rupees and 78,999 rupees, respectively. You can buy it in two colours: White and Black.

The Apple iPhone 16e packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• Type C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Documentation

Before we talk in detail about the Apple iPhone 16e, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.1 inches Super Retina XDR OLED
• Chipset: Apple A18 (3 nm)
• RAM & ROM: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
• Software: iOS 18.3.1 upgradable to iOS 26
• Rear camera: 48MP
• Selfie camera: 12MP
• Battery: 4005mAh
• Weight: 167 grams
• Dimensions: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm

The Apple iPhone 16e features an attractive design with an aluminium frame and a matte-finish glass back. Its lightweight of just 167 grams offers an excellent feel for commuting anywhere. I’m somewhat accustomed to phones weighing over 215 grams, so using this one brings me genuine joy.

As you are aware, Apple employs a flat design with rounded corners that is consistent across all Apple devices. This phone measures 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm, fitting perfectly in the hand and tending to pick up fingerprints on the back. I recommend using a cover to protect the phone; otherwise, its back could be easily damaged.

It has a single camera on the back along with a flash. The right side of the phone features a power button, while the left side has an action button, volume buttons, and a SIM tray.

There is nothing on the top, while the bottom contains a sound strip and a Type-C port.

 This phone also boasts an IP68 rating for dust tightness and water resistance, allowing it to be immersed in water up to 6 metres for 30 minutes.

I am using the black colour, but it is also available in white. Overall, the Apple iPhone 16e earns high marks for its excellent design and build quality.

There is no major question about the Apple iPhone 16e camera, but there will be a clear differentiation between the Apple iPhone 16 and Apple iPhone 15 cameras compared to the Apple iPhone 16e, which has only a single rear camera of 48 MP.

Clarifying to you all that in every image, you will notice a difference if you are comparing images at 1x or 2x. However, the iPhone 15 features a dedicated 12MP ultra-wide lens, which is ideal for capturing more of the scene, allowing for more creative framing and depth in landscapes or tight interiors.

Moving on to image samples, you can see that these photos captured my skin tone accurately and close to real life. I also noticed there is no saturation or pixelation in the image results. You can see flower images, where the colours are picked accurately.

The iPhone 16e details are sharp in daylight, and Smart HDR 5 manages highlights and shadows well. You can see that my skin tones are natural, and portraits carry a good sense of depth even without a dedicated telephoto or ultra-wide lens. For casual users, the results are more than satisfying.

However, when you zoom in or attempt to capture a wide scene, the limitation of having a single lens becomes apparent. Unlike the iPhone 15, which gives you the flexibility of switching to the ultra-wide, the iPhone 16e relies on digital cropping.

This works fine at 1x and 2x, but beyond that, images start losing detail and dynamic range. Low-light shots are decent with Night Mode, but you will notice grain and softer textures compared to the iPhone 15.

Moving on, the selfies are good with the front camera, delivering balanced colours and detail. Apple’s skin tone accuracy remains one of the best, and the edge detection in portrait selfies is clean.

Video recording is stable and sharp in natural light, but in dim environments, noise creeps in quickly.

Overall, the Apple iPhone 16e long-term review camera is reliable for everyday use, providing you with sharp and natural photos.

Also Read: Vivo V60 Review: A Camera Phone That Puts Style First

As usual, battery is a constant problem in iPhones and similar in Apple iPhone 16e too. It comes with a 4,005mAh battery (Source: GSMarena), offering average battery life on a single charge. If you are using it for social media scrolling, watching movies, and other activities, then it can last a day on a single charge.

However, its battery life drastically decreases during BGMI gameplay, offering up to 10 hours of playtime on a single charge. I am reviewing a Cashify refurbished phone whose battery health is already at 95 per cent, so you can get more battery life with a new phone.

As you know, Apple does not include a charger in the box, so you can buy a 20W fast charger from a trusted seller or Cashify stores. It can be fully charged in just 55 minutes and 50 per cent in only 20 minutes. You can also charge it with Magsafe wirelessly.

The Apple iPhone 16e display impresses with its reliable colour accuracy and punchy image quality, thanks to the 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel supporting HDR10 and Dolby Vision standards. Having used the phone for an extended period, the display stands out for consistently sharp visuals, whether browsing photos or streaming video content in HDR.

Its peak brightness reaches up to 1,200 nits, ensuring decent visibility even outdoors. However, the typical brightness is limited to 800 nits, which is slightly lower than that of premium competitors. This is something that becomes apparent under direct sunlight.

A strong point in this Apple iPhone 16e long-term review is the panel’s durability. There are no issues with colour shift or burn-in, even after months of daily use. However, it’s important to highlight a major critique that Apple remains conservative with the refresh rate.

The 16e’s display is locked to 60Hz, noticeably less smooth than the 90Hz or 120Hz panels available on similarly-priced Android devices. Scrolling and gaming aren’t as fluid, and users upgrading from a high-refresh-rate phone may feel this limitation sharply.

Additionally, Apple does not include an always-on display, even though the hardware supports it, likely a deliberate omission to differentiate higher-end models. While the colour tuning and overall clarity are appreciable, thicker bezels and the classic notch may feel dated compared to the latest designs.

Apple’s iPhone 16e is equipped with the A18 chipset built on a 3nm architecture. It also has an 8GB RAM and fast NVMe storage to deliver fluid, responsive performance throughout everyday use and heavy workloads. The six-core CPU maintains smooth multitasking, efficient app launches, and snappy navigation, underlining Apple’s precision in software optimisation and hardware synergy.

I played BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile for extended sessions. BGMI ran without major frame drops, and I didn’t experience significant lag, even during clutch gaming moments. Compared to similarly priced Android phones, iPhone 16e’s thermal management has improved; there’s minimal heating, and the phone rarely throttles, thanks to enhanced cooling hardware.

I conducted several Benchmark tests on the Apple iPhone 16e to evaluate its accurate performance in various aspects. Its Geekbench CPU scores are 2948 in single-core and 5029 in multi-core.  Moreover, its Antutu score is 1294015. The 3DMark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test for stability has an overall score of 70.8%.

The Apple iPhone 16e runs on iOS 18 but is upgradeable to iOS 26. Currently, I’m using the iOS 26 Beta version, which offers a clean and highly optimised user interface that feels smooth and intuitive in daily use.

The seamless integration between hardware and software ensures fast app switching, fluid animations, and an overall distraction-free experience. I personally liked the Apple Liquid Glass animations and all related features.

Additionally, features like Focus modes, improved notifications, and the revamped Control Centre contribute to the polished iOS experience Apple is known for.

However, despite Apple’s promises around “Apple Intelligence” during the iPhone 16e launch, some of the key AI-based features still feel half-baked or limited in real-world usage. For instance, while there are intelligent photo editing suggestions and Smart Siri improvements are still need to be fully delivered with a transformative experience as Apple hinted at.

Some automation and privacy enhancements are welcome, but they seem underwhelming compared to what competing platforms have implemented more thoroughly.

I found this gap between promise and full implementation a bit disappointing, given that these features were a major highlight at launch. The software feels stable and secure, but users expect a flagship-level “smart” experience powered by true Apple AI. It might find some aspects lacking or underdeveloped even after several months.